A Changed America: How Should Canada and the World Respond?
Sponsored by the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary History, Trinity College (University of Toronto), NATO Association of Canada, Canadian International Council
Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Time: 8:30 am - 3:45 pm, Toronto time
Location: Massey College, Junior Common Room
About the Event
This conference will examine how Canada and the international community should respond to profound political changes underway in the United States. One year into a dramatically altered era in Washington, global institutions, alliances, democratic norms, and security structures face new pressures. The event brings together leading scholars, diplomats, policymakers, journalists, and security experts to consider strategic options for Canada within a shifting international landscape.
Program
8:30–9:00 AM — Light Breakfast
9:00–10:00 AM — Welcome and Opening Session
Welcome: Thomas S. Axworthy, Public Policy Chair, Massey College
Speaker: James Orbinski, Principal, Massey College
Topic: ‘Multilateralism: What Is the Future?’
10:00–11:30 AM — Panel 1: The Global Order Under Stress
Chair: Leah Taylor Roy, former MP, Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill
Panelists:
Terrie O’Leary, former VP of Toronto Global, World Bank board member
Carolyn Johns, Toronto Metropolitan University
Charles McMillan, Schulich School of Business, author of The Age of Consequence, former Senior Advisor to Brian Mulroney
11:30–12:15 PM — Lunch Break
12:15–1:15 PM — Keynote Address
Speaker: The Honourable Bob Rae, Former Ambassador of Canada to the United Nations
1:15–3:00 PM — Panel 2: Security and Defence in a Changing America
Chair: Professor Beth Fischer, Woodsworth College
Panelists:
Jack Cunningham, Bill Graham Centre
Kim Nossal, Queen’s University, author of Canada Alone
Eugene Lang, Queen’s University
3:00–3:45 PM — Final Conclusions
Chair: Melanie Walker, Canadian International Council
Speaker: Martha Harrison, partner and Co- Head International Trade and Investment Law Group, McCarthy Tetrault